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STATE COLLEGE, PA (CBS Cleveland) – According to a recent study, women are happier at work than at home.

The researchers say that working regular hours help people relax. The researchers measured cortisol levels in the participants and found that the levels of stress hormones dropped significantly at work, especially in women.

“Further contradicting conventions wisdom, we found that women as well as men have lower levels of stress at work than at home,” Sarah Damaske , a sociologist and women’s studies professor at Penn State and one of the authors on the study, said in a news release. “In fact, women may get more renewal from work than men because unlike men, they report themselves happier at work than at home. It is men, not women, who report being happier at home than work.”

According to Damaske, women who work consistently through their twenties and thirties report better physical and mental health at 45 years of age.

Researchers analyzed saliva samples from 122 participants. The participants were asked to give samples six times during the day for three days. Researchers then measured each participant’s cortisol levels, which is a biological marker for stress.

“We found a huge gender difference,” Damaske said.

Researchers believe that paid sick days, paternity and maternity leaves, along with the opportunity to work from home help reduce employee stress in the long term and help employers retain loyal workers rather than deal with constant turnovers.